Help Desk: Fixing Credit Report Errors

More and more people are affected by mistakes in their credit reports each day. Unfortunately, these mistakes can have major consequences in the long run. Credit reports include personal information like where you live, how you pay bills, and whether you've been sued or filed for bankruptcy.

They also contain information that determines whether you can get a loan and how much it will cost to borrow money. 11Alive's Help Desk knows how important it is to have accurate credit reports, and that's why we've listed the crucial steps towards correcting those errors.

For your convenience, all companies have established a central website, a toll-free number, and a mailing address to order these reports. To order online, visit: www.annualcreditreport.com or you can call: 1-877-322-8228. You can also request your report by mail to the Annual Credit Report Request Service.

Remember, don't contact these companies individually. You can order your reports from all companies at the same time, or stagger your requests throughout the year. Staggering your requests is a good way to measure accuracy and completeness on all reports.

By law, both the credit reporting company and the information provider, namely the person or company that provides information about you to a credit reporting company, are responsible for correcting wrong or incomplete information in your report.

If you notice an error on your credit report, the second step is telling the credit reporting company, in writing, what information you think is inaccurate. In your letter, you should clearly state the facts, explain why you dispute the information, and include any copies of documents that support your position.